The short version
Our product reviews are desk reviews: they are based on the provider's official documentation and published details, checked on specific dates, not on hands-on testing. We say so on every review page. That means the factual details are as good as the official sources we checked — and the time-sensitive ones (fees, prices, eligibility) are things you should re-verify on the official site before you act, because they change.
How a review is built
- We define the criteria first. Before we look at any product, we write down the criteria that matter for the reader's decision — for an exchange, that's total fees, eligibility, onboarding, security track record, and withdrawal paths. The criteria are published on the page so you can see the basis of any judgment.
- We gather facts from official sources. Fees, product structure, and eligibility come from the company's own pages, and we record the URL and the date we checked it in the page's Sources.
- We separate facts from judgments. Factual details (a published fee, a product name) are stated with their source. Editorial judgments (which product fits which kind of user) are labeled as such, so you know which parts are verifiable and which are our opinion.
- We mark what we can't verify. If a detail can't be checked from our research environment — a site that blocks automated access, a paywalled figure — we do not state it. Instead we link the official page and tell you to verify it. A "check this yourself" cell is more honest than a number we guessed.
How comparisons are built
Comparisons apply the same criteria to two or more products side by side. The rules that keep them honest:
- Criteria, not commission. The order and the conclusions follow the published criteria, never the size of any commission or the enthusiasm of a partner.
- Use-case framing. We generally avoid declaring a single "winner," because the right product depends on how you'll use it. We tell you which product fits which situation, and let you match it to yours.
- Shared risks stated plainly. Where products share a fundamental risk (for example, custody on an exchange), we say so rather than letting a comparison imply one is categorically safer.
Verification and re-verification
Every source on a page carries a check date. Commercial details — fees, prices, product names, eligibility — are re-verified on a schedule: monthly for exchange and wallet details, before each filing season for tax content, and immediately if we learn a claim has gone stale. When a detail changes, we update the page and its date; when we can't re-verify something, the affected page goes back to draft rather than shipping with a possibly-wrong number.
What this method does and doesn't do
What it doesn't do: it is not hands-on testing, it is not a safety certification, and it is not a guarantee that a product will behave as described tomorrow. Verify the details that matter to you on the official site, on the day you act.
Our broader standards — including how AI assistance is used and disclosed — are in our editorial policy, and how commercial relationships are handled is in our affiliate disclosure.